BARRIER FREE ENVIRONMENT

~ SIGNAGES ~
WHAT IS A BARRIER FREE ENVIRONMENT?

A barrier-free environment is a space that allows for free and safe

movement, function and access for all, regardless of age, sex or
condition. A space or a set of services that can be accessed by
all, without obstacles, with dignity and with as much
independence as possible. The environment means buildings,
roads, parks, gardens and other places, services, modes of
transportation, etc.

Signage forms an important part in creating a barrier- free

environment and should be treated as such.
 SIGNAGE TYPES
There are four main functional typologies into
which signage could be classified :
a. Information Signs
b. Directional Signs
c. Identification ( Locational) Signs and
d. Warning ( Safety) Signs.
 INFORMATION SIGNS
These include location signs, sign directories,
maps for both internal and external areas for
orientation of the user.
 DIRECTIONAL SIGNS
These signs direct the user to a destination with
arrow marks aiding the text.
 IDENTIFICATION SIGNS
These signs installed at specific individual
destinations indicate the location of a room,
service, desk, etc.
 WARNING SIGNS
Signs installed for the safety of users which may be either the
warning or the prohibitory type. This group would include fire
exit signs, safety signs, etc. and are normally specified by ISO
conventions in terms of colour, size and graphic. These designs
should be adhered to and not tampered with in any aspect.
 SIGNAGE SHAPES
The following internationally specified shapes
should be followed in sign boards for various
signs:
Information signboards – Rectangular
Warning signboards – Triangular
Interdiction signboards – Circular
 DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
GENERAL -

- Signage should be placed at nodal positions, openly and

prominently. They should be simple in syntax and must be well lit in
ambient low- light conditions.
- It should not obstruct any movement path and, if suspended, should
have a minimum clear head-room of 2000 mm from the finished floor.
- If the signage is floor based and free-standing, then there should be
a detectable barrier at the floor level for the white stick users.
- Signage systems should be clear, consistent and in all the
comprehensible languages of the region. Cross signage should be
avoided to avoid anxiety and confusion.

- n general, signs should not be placed behind glass panels because

of possible reflection and thus making for poor readability.

- Signage placed on pedestrian path of travel are considered

obstructions; thus they should be detectable.
 SIGNAGE REQUIREMENT
Signs related to barrier-free access are required at the following locations:

- An exterior sign complying with Sections 1.1 and 3 should be located at the main
accessible entrance.
- In the case of multiple access points, each access point should indicate the
shortest route to the accessible entry.

- Reception areas and lobbies should have locational signs for elevators, fire exits,
accessible facilities like toilets, etc., directional and locational signs for major
services like cafes, reception, public telephone, etc.,emergency signage. In each
case, the accessible route should be marked to avoid confusion.
- Sign directories and maps showing
accessible routes should be provided for
extensive campuses.

- Each floor should have directional signs

to accessible facilities and exits,
emergency signages and a sign directory
or information signs at main intersections.

- Accessible spaces and facilities should be

identified by the international symbol of
accessibility.
 SPECIFICATIONS
The following specifications should be
adhered to while designing signages :

CHARACTER PROPORTIONS

Letters and numbers on signs shall have a

width-to-height ratio between 3:5 and 1:1
and a stroke-width-to-height ratio between
1:5 and 1:10.
CHARACTER HEIGHT

Characters and numbers on signs shall be

sized according to the viewing distance
from which they are to be read. The
minimum height is measured using an
uppercase ‘X’. Lower case characters are
permitted. The smallest letter type should
not be less than 15mm. The size of the
letters should be in proportion to the
reading distance.
RAISED AND BRAILLE CHARACTERS AND
PICTOGRAMS
The letters and signs should preferably be
raised or etched at least 1 mm from the
background, to enable sightless people to read
the information using the tips of their fingers.
Raised characters shall be at least 15 mm
high, but not higher than 50 mm. Pictograms
shall be accompanied by the equivalent verbal
description placed directly below the
pictogram. The border dimension of the
pictogram shall be 150 mm minimum in height.
FINISH AND CONTRAST
The characters and background of signs shall be
eggshell, matte, or other non-glare finish. It is preferable
to also use light-sensitive reflective surfaces which
would reflect incident light (radium stickers).
Characters and symbols shall contrast with their
background — either light characters on a dark
background or dark characters on a light background.
The commonly used colours are: white, black, yellow,
red, blue and green.
The colour combinations red/green and yellow/ blue
should not be used in order to avoid confusing colour-
blind persons. (They are complementary colours).
MOUNTING LOCATION AND HEIGHT
Where permanent identification is provided for rooms
and spaces, signs shall be installed on the wall
adjacent to the latch side of the door. Where there is no
wall space to the latch side of the door, including at
double leaf doors, signs shall be placed on the nearest
adjacent wall. The mounting height shall be 1500 mm
from finished floor to centreline of the sign.
The mounting location for such signage shall be such
that a person may approach within 76 mm of them
without standing within the swing of a door or
encountering protruding objects. Overhanging signs
should have a minimum clearance of 2000 mm from
finished floor.
SYMBOLS OF ACCESSIBILITY
Facilities and elements required to be identified as accessible shall use the
international symbol of accessibility. The symbol may be adapted to individual facilities.
The symbol is composed of a wheelchair figure with either a square background or a
square border.
Contrasting colours should be used to differentiate the figure from the background. The
commonly employed colours are white for the figure and blue for the background.
The wheelchair figure should always face the right..
For completely accessible buildings, it is enough to have one explanatory sign at the
entrance.
ILLUMINATION LEVEL

Illumination levels on the sign surface

shall be in the 100 to 300 lux range
and shall be uniform. Signs shall be
located such that the illumination level
on the surface of the sign is not
significantly exceeded by the ambient
light or a visible bright lighting source
behind or in front of it.
 SIGNAGE DESIGN
LANGUAGE
Clear, unambiguous messages in simple,
understandable fonts and formats.
Legibility improves if every key word begins with a
capital letter.
The exceptions are standard words like STOP,
EXIT, BUS, etc.
Use punctuations sparingly and avoid the use of
full stops at the end of the sentence.
Signages leading to two destinations should be
kept on separate lines for easier legibility.
Avoid abbreviations as they can be easily misinterpreted.
Symbols should be used wherever possible. They are very useful for visually
impaired people as they can be larger in size than the text message. A good
pictorial symbol depends on simplicity, legibility and good recognition/ familiar
factor. It also helps illiterate people to comprehend the signage.
Where more than one language is to be used in a sign, it is advisable to use
symbols as well.
ISO recommended symbols must be used as far as possible.
The arrow in directional signs must be carefully used so as to aid and not
confuse the user. This is more relevant when placing a directory of multiple
directions.
SIGN TYPEFACE
Sign typefaces must be standard,
legible and clearly discernible. Some
recommended typefaces are :
Decorative, fancy, expanded and
condensed typefaces should be
avoided. Also Italics or script texts are
not very legible.
Usage of too many type sizes on any
one sign should be avoided.
The size of the typeface must be in
relation to the viewing distance.
SIZES OF LETTERS AND SYMBOLS
At building entrances, house numbers and similar : 150 mm
Identification or direction signs : 50 ~ 100 mm
Sign directories : 25~50 mm
Symbols should be at least 100mm in height.
Braille should be incorporated in the signs. Round dots which should be raised
0.46mm must be placed below the text (or symbol) and ranged from left.
A Braille locator (either raised or recessed should also be incorporated in the
sign to enable the visually impaired to be guided to the Braille message.
TEXT DESIGN
Legibility also depends on inter character spacing, word
spacing and line spacing.
For visually impaired people it is desirable to increase the inter
character, word and line spacing by 20 percent to 30 percent.
Text aligned left is the easiest to read and is recommended in
most cases except in direction signs where both left and right
arrows are being used and the text should correspondingly be
left or right aligned.
Locational signs can be centre aligned.
Both upper and lower cases must be used as they tend to be
more legible than a message in all caps or all small letter
forms.
COLOUR AND CONTRAST
The colour and contrast should depend on external factors such as background,
location, etc. A blue sign on a blue wall will obviously be of little help.
A border around the sign can be useful in increasing the readability as long as the
border width is not overpowering.
 SIGN INSTALLATION
ILLUMINATION
All signs must be adequately lit for proper visibility. However, glare from lighting will
cause discomfort. Signs must ideally be made from materials with a matt finish,
should not be placed in front of glass or similar transparent material and should not
be suspended against a light source with angle of incidence equal to 90½.
SIGN POSITIONING
All wall-mounted or freestanding signs must ideally be positioned in the range of 1400
to 1600 mm above the finished floor level for proper readability. This is specially
applicable to all signs that are to be read at close range e.g door signs, identification
signs, etc.
-Room numbers should be placed on door frames and not on the doors so that they
are visible even when the door is open.
The room nameplate in Braille should be incorporated into the signage within a range
of 1200 mm to 1400 mm.
-All hanging signs must be suspended at least 2000 mm from the finished floor level
so as not to cause any obstruction to the user.
-All signs fixed flat on the wall must not
project more than 100 mm from the wall.
-Signs that are to be read from a distance
must be positioned sufficiently high so as
not be covered by other objects such as
people, cars, etc.
-Signs accompanied by a control panel
(such as lift buttons) must be within easy
reach of a
wheelchair user. The allowable range is
900 to 1200 mm above the finished floor
level.